Summer typically means spending significantly more time outside enjoying your property, which benefits your family’s health and wellness but can cause septic system problems. Whether you're new to septic maintenance or experienced issues during last year's warm season, some simple steps will help prevent headaches. Here's how to extend your wastewater management system’s life to avoid costly, premature repair and replacement. 

How to Maintain Your Septic System This Summer

1. Avoid Driving & Parking Over It

You may be having friends and relatives over this summer for cookouts and celebrations. If so, stake your septic system's boundary so that no one drives over it. The weight of several-ton vehicles can crack the septic tank and adjoining perforated pipes, resulting in sewage leaks and property contamination issues. 

Vehicle weight also compacts drain field soil, causing wastewater to pool instead of filtering through the soil and reaching groundwater reserves. Pooled wastewater hasn’t been cleaned by bacteria-eating microbes, which can cause further contamination issues. 

2. Make System-Friendly Planting Choices

Planting new trees or shrubs over the septic tank, pipes, or drain field can pose problems. This is because plants naturally look for the nearest water source, which can result in roots clogging the drain field and septic pipes. Clogs prevent wastewater from flowing efficiently, often resulting in slow drains and plumbing backups. 

Roots can also wrap around pipes, causing them to crack and leak wastewater. Plant anything with an aggressive root system at least 20 feet away from your septic components, and look for shallow-rooted vegetation to use over the tank and drain field. 

3. Schedule Pumping Before a Big Event

It's wise to get the tank pumped prior to a sizable event at your home, such as a backyard wedding or graduation party. Doing so ensures your system can accommodate the extra people using your bathrooms, which will avoid plumbing backups from a tank already at or near full capacity. 

You might also want to post polite notes in your bathrooms reminding guests not to flush anything other than toilet paper. Foreign objects like cigarette butts, feminine products, and disposable wipes contribute to septic tank clogs. 

Get ready for summer with a functional and safe septic system that's been maintained by Martin’s Septic Service in Milledgeville, GA. The company has more than 15 years of experience providing septic pumping, maintenance, and repair services to residents throughout Lake Oconee, Lake Sinclair, Gray, and Eatonton, GA. Call (478) 452-8272 to request a free estimate or learn more about their septic services online. Read what satisfied customers say on Google.